Flight, fight, freeze or please. Let’s chat about the freeze or people please threat responses, the functionality & physiology.
E v e r y t h i n g s l o w s d o w n.
This is what happens when you’re in a freeze / people please threat response. Everything literally slows down.
In these threat responses, unlike the flight / fight responses, we are checking out because our mind and body has determined that something in our environment isn’t safe for us. This happens when we’re too overwhelmed for too long without a change in state towards safety or relief.
Physiology of Freeze / People Please Threat Response
Just as with fight / flight, our physiology is dramatically affected by these threat responses.
So what does a freeze / people please threat response look like?
• Less ‘here’
• broad range of disassociation (from everyday day dreaming to a dissociative identity state
• gut issues
• dulled senses
• low sense of awareness of hunger & fullness
• shallow breathing
• slow responses
• lose track of needs
• body dysmorphia (having the feeling or sense that you are bigger or smaller than you actually are)
The invitation here is to begin to notice your signals of what ‘not really here’ are and make the decision, every day, that it’s okay to take up space and be loud.
I invite you to tune in for next week’s blog as we talk about the action steps you can take when you find yourself in a threat response.
If you would like to join a community of individuals on this similar journey as you, I invite you to check out the Peaceful Eating Community.
